1830: New Nations Born

Europe was forever changed by the long Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars.

The radical idea of nationalism- that people should live in a country of their choosing, not under a king or emperor- had been spread by the French armies, and used by Napoleon to unite his huge numbers of conscripts. In 1830, the country of Belgium was created, its people revolting against rule by a Dutch monarch. In France, Paris rose in Revolution once more, replacing the French King Charles X with a more liberal ruler.